The owner, Don Barnes, is a retired US air pilot who loves history…specifically transportation related.
The vision was to recreate a small town train station that would also house his collection. So in 1989 tracks were laid and 4 train car were brought into the small village of Harlansburg The Barnes family spend the next 3 years renovating the train cars, building the train station and setting up the museum. In the fall of 1991 the museum open followed by the gift shop in Spring of 1992.
The train station and rail cars contain transportation related artifacts and memorabilia that include trains, Air Force, nautical, motorcycle and more.
One train car is filled with a H.O. Scale train layout highlights coal mine, steel mills and old small town living.
The gift shop has a large selection of transportation related items for every age group.
Take your time going through the gift shop and you’ll notice that it also contains many historical items.
The museum is located at the intersection of route 19 and route 108 just minutes from Volant, new Wilmington, McConnells Mills and the Grove City Prime Outlet. Please remember when you visit this is a cash only stop.
After the museum we headed south to Frew Mill Road. The road crosses a bridge spanning the Slippery Rock Creek and an old mill dam waterfall.
The view is beautiful but be careful the bridge is on a curve and there isn’t much room to pull off.
The property around the bridge and creek is private so the visit is limited to the bridge but the view is worth even the short stop.
After a little riding we headed to Racheal’s Roadhouse. If there’s a wait for the dining room you can head out to the patio and grab appetizers and drinks while you wait, or in our case that’s all I was wanting, so no wait at all.
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We spent the 4th on the bike enjoying the beautiful weather and exploring some covered bridges in Ashtabula County Ohio. We have been to most of the bridges and once we have them all 17 checked off I will do a post with all of them.
Yesterday we stopped at Netcher Road Covered Bridge, Giddings Road Covered Bridge and South Denmark Covered Bridge. These three are close together and make for a nice day trip. All three are located in Jefferson, Oh and cross over Mill Creek. The total trip for us was around 140 miles. We stayed off the major highways and enjoyed the country roads.
First stop was Netcher Road Covered Bridge located at 1544 Netcher Rd, Jefferson, OH. The bridge is 110 feet long, 22 feet wide and 14 feet size inches tall, and was open to traffic in 1999.
On either side of the bridge there are small pull offs so that you can stop and check the bridge out a little closer, and if you’re like me snap some pictures.
Next up was Giddings Road Covered Bridge, just 3 miles from Netcher, located at 1399 Giddings Rd, Jefferson, OH. This bridge was built in 1995 and 107 feet long. There is only one small pull off, you may need to just park along the road if you’d like to stop and walk the bridge.
The last bridge of the day was South Denmark Covered Bridge. Located at 2670 S. Denmark Rd, Jefferson, OH is is about 8 miles from the Giddings Road bridge.
This bridge was built in 1890, but bypassed with a steel bridge in 1975. Access to the bridge is easy and can still be driven across by any vehicle under 4 tons.
The South Denmark Covered Bridge is 100 feet long with a span of 76 feet, 13.24 feet wide and 11 feet high.
After checking out the bridges we made our way to Jamestown, PA to try to find a bite to eat. Most places were closed for the 4th but the Jamestown Hunger Buster was open and serving great food and had a ton of options for your sweet tooth. They offer over 24 flavors of soft serve ice cream, just as many flavors of hard ice cream, shaved ice and so many more desserts. This little shop even has their own bakery.
There is some outside seating, but the only tables out of the sun are on the small porch. Another option is always to grab you food and head up to Pymatuning State Park just up the road and enjoy the lake view while eating.
We opted to split one of their wedges so we had room for ice cream. I’m glad be did because it was stacked with meat and cheese, and boy was it good. We tried three flavors of the hard ice cream, Brown Butter Bourbon Truffle, Midnight Carmel River and Carmel Cheesecake Cookie Monster. They were all delicious but the Brown Butter Bourbon Truffle was my favorite.
Bellies full, we headed back home for the day.
A couple tips when exploring the Ashtabula Covered Bridges:
Check out the area you are exploring for the day and plan ahead for somewhere to get something to eat and drink. Some of the bridges are off on their own so you may want to figure you dining options in ahead of time.
Second is related to the location of the bridges as well….restrooms. Most but not all of the bridges do not offer a restroom close, so again just be aware and plan before you head out.
Our latest bike ride took us through the countryside and included several local bar/restaurants. The total trip for use was just over 100 miles, and if you follow the same route we took it will include a short amount of time on some dirt roads, but not much.
Heading towards our first stop, we passed through Cochranton, PA and over French Creek. We took a few minutes to stop and walk along the water at a boat launch near the bridge. This area also had a couple picnic tables tucked under the trees along the creek. This would be a great spot to grab some food from the Country Fair gas station or Cochranton Marketplace, located just up the street and bring it back to enjoy while sitting by the creek.
According to the informational signage the Cochranton area has been inhabited since 1100 AD, and was chartered as a borough April 5, 1855. The creek itself played an important part in the French and Indian War as well as in the settlement of northwest Pennsylvania. It’s original name was Riviere aux Boeufs of the French, but was renamed in 1753 by George Washington to French Creek.
Next we made our way to J.I.’s Place overlooking Sugar Lake, previously name Sugar Lake Hotel. The road to J.I’s Place winds along the lake so make sure to drive cautiously and watch for the local wildlife.
If you are on a bike you will also want to be careful in the parking lot. It is on a hill and is gravel. Unfortunately we have seen many tip overs in this parking lot.
This has always been a popular spot for bikers and is often a stop on benefit rides. There is both inside and outside seating allowing you to enjoy the view of the lake on nice days. They will also have bands on the outside deck when the weather permits.
We stopped on a Sunday just after they opened so the staff was busy prepping for the day, but the ladies were very friendly and made time to chit chat with us while we sat at the bar.
When I was doing my normal research for new places to see a found a historic site that would fit into our route, so off we went to check it out. The historic site was the remnants of a tannery built in 1825 by the famous abolitionist John Brown, who lived at this location from 1825 to 1835. The tannery was a major stop on the Underground Railroad.
We made our way down the dirt road that leads to the historic site, but when we reached the location all we saw was the historic marker sign. The area was overgrown and appeared to be on private property. We did not want to take a chance on trespassing on someone’s land, so unfortunately this stop was a bust.
Next up was a stop at Woodcock Creek Lake. The lake is Operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and offers hiking, fishing, bird/butterfly watching areas, camping and many other recreational options. There are several areas of interest. The first is the Overlook Recreation Area, offering a panoramic view of the dam which provides flood protection for the French Creek system. There is also a picnic area and restrooms available here.
The Woodcock Creek Lake visitors center is just down the road from the overlook. This area provides visitors the opportunity to walk across the dam. Near the parking area just before you reach the dam you will find a butterfly garden. If you walk to the other side of the dam there is access to two hiking trails.
Across the road from the visitor center is the Bossar Nature Area Parking which offers a Nature Area and Center, restrooms and access to another hiking trail.
Last stop at Woodcock Creek Lake was the Overflow Recreational Area and Woodcock Creek Park. The area offers several picnic areas, restrooms, playground, disc golf, access to the hiking trail and a fishing area at the outflow of dam.
After stopping at the lake we were off to Saegertown, PA to check out Hitchy’s Tavern & Grill. We had never been to this place so I was very excited to check it out. Hitchy’s has both indoor and outdoor seating. The outdoor patio also has it’s own bar area. We opted to sit inside and grab a couple drinks and a little bite to eat.
The inside bar had a beautiful live edge bar top and the interior had an eclectic rustic feel. On the wall above where we sat there were several wall hangings related to the prohibition that made for an interesting read while we were there.
We tried the deep fried banana pepper rings and the Bourbon Siracha wings, and boy were they yummy. This will definitely be a repeat stop because they have an extensive menu and it all looked good, so we will need to go back to try their other offerings.
Up next, was Fatboy’s Saloon in Conneautville. This is a regular stop for us when we are in the area. Fatboy’s has a inside bar and small dining area, as well as an screened in dining area at the rear of the bar.
Inside you will find games of chance, shuffleboard table and more. Outside, under pavilion, they have cornhole boards setup and host tournaments. Fatboy’s is a another popular stop for biker’s and serves as a stop for many benefit rides.
Just a short ride from Fatboy’s was our final stop, Tavern 618 located in Conneaut Lake near the site of the historic Conneaut Lake Park. If you are familiar with the area, you may remember the location under the old name, The Palms.
Do not let the outside fool you. While the exterior may look plain jane the inside is beautiful and has many unique features, such as the live edge planks hanging down serving as a floating ceiling.
On this day we only stopped in for a quick drink before making our way home, but next time I would like to try out some items off their menu.
CKay Lens View 